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A former chief of staff for Dalton McGuinty testified that he saved 300 records from his time in the premier’s office — just none related to the controversial and costly decision to cancel two gas plants.

Chris Morley said Tuesday he upheld the Archives and Recordkeeping Act, and that he deleted only e-mails as demanded of him under the rules.

Much of the discussion regarding the cancelling and relocating of the Oakville and Mississauga plants was done in person or over the phone, he said.

“I’m in strong belief that the government needs a very clear law that no document can be deleted on a go-forward basis. That’s not the rule that has existed for the last 15 years,” Morley said. “If the legislature wants to create that rule on a go-forward basis, they should do it.

“My view is if they’re going to do that they should do it not just for government, but for MPPs and caucuses as well.”

Morley produced 99 exemptions to the recordkeeping requirements, such as the need to delete temporary or duplicate documents.

The Ontario Standing Committee on Justice Policy is investigating the government’s decision to cancel the two planned gas plants at a loss of $585 million.

As committee members sought government records that might shed light on the reasoning, it’s become known that some senior political staff deleted all their e-mail records — in one case breaking the Archives and Recordkeeping Act, according to the province’s information and privacy commissioner.

Morley testified at the committee Tuesday that he was involved in the discussions around the gas plants and agreed with the decision to cancel them.

“I live on the west end of town, downtown. I have a small son, and you know I have to say that I am pleased that he will not have to chew on smog or pollution because those gas plants were inappropriately placed,” said Morley, who told the committee the plants would have been too close to homes and a school, and would have generated more air pollution.

Morley even praised the NDP and Tories for identifying before the government that the plants were poorly sited.

Opposition MPPs say the McGuinty government had a more vested interest in cancelling the plants — saving Liberal seats in the area — and that it acted with no care for the cost to taxpayers and hydro ratepayers.

Tory MPP Vic Fedeli said he found it hard to believe that McGuinty’s chief of staff would not produce any gas plant documents worth keeping.

“He’s claiming that every e-mail he ever had with respect to a gas plant was either of a personal nature … or a duplication,” Fedeli said. “That’s absolutely not credible whatsoever. I found him unapologetic, I found him very contradictory as well.”

Former finance minister Dwight Duncan tweeted that the gas plant committee is a “kangaroo court,” and that Morley showed more integrity than the opposition members on the committee.

Premier Kathleen Wynne told the Sun that her office has completely overhauled how it handles records to ensure staff is properly trained.

“We put in a strict protocol around retaining documents,” Wynne said Tuesday.